Bathinda, November 26
Beneficiaries under the Atta-Dal scheme today raised slogans outside the ration depot located near the Multania flyover and alleged that the depot holder was selling the grains in the black market instead of distributing it among the blue-card holders.

Nirmala, Panakaj, Ajay, Dheeraj, Indira, Gita, Soma Devi and several others, all residents of Multania Road and Surkhpeer Road, today raised slogans against the depot holder and the state government for not paying heed to the demands of the poor and the needy.

“Over the last 10 days, my wife and I have taken turns to visit the depot to collect the grain we are entitled to under the scheme of the Central government but the depot holder and his son turned us away on one pretext or the other. They have been doing the same for several months now and we are a loss as we have to buy grain from the open market and we can afford to do so month after month,” said Dheeraj, a driver by profession.

He further accused the depot holder of supplying the food grains meant for the poor in the black market and and making extra money. “We are poor and no one listens to us. We are left to run from pillar-to-post even if we approach the senior officers. While the depot holder is busy making extra money, there is no redressal system to our problems,” he added.

Other residents also alleged that when asked why he was delaying distribution of food grains to the beneficiaries, the depot holder furnished no satisfactory reply and merely told them that the food grains were in short supply and would be distributed once it was made available to the depot.

Meanwhile, inspector (grade I), Kanwar Pal Sharma, stated that second consignment of wheat had been delivered at the depot in question today itself and that he had received a call from a beneficiary confirming that he had been supplied wheat by the depot holder and that he was satisfied.

“The matter of shortage of wheat at the particular depot came to my attention late during the day but before that wheat had already been sent to the depot holder Khem Singh. Those who did not get the food grains today will get the same on Friday,” he said.

Judges have a look at a buffalo during the Animal Fair and Milking competition in Bathinda

Bathinda, November 26
Sukhdev Singh, a farmer of Salabatpura village, got his four buffaloes honoured at the two-day animal fair and milking competition held in the city. Sukhdev Singh remained the centre of attraction at the fair.

His three buffaloes of different breeds were honoured with female buffalo named ‘Surveen’ bagging the first position for being one of the best breed in Bathinda. Surveen is the offspring of a bull worth Rs 7 crore.

Sukhdev’s others buffaloes Maina (three-anda-half-year-old), and Kiran, (a-year-and-nine-month-old) were awarded the second and the fifth positions, respectively. Sukhdev said, “I do not give fodder grown with the help of spray or pesticides. I feed them with simple feed, including ‘tara’, besides wheat and rice and black gram. I never use injections to get more milk as it harms the buffaloes,” said Sukhdev.

“I have been awarded thrice the first position by PAU, Ludhiana, for best milk, khoya and cheese. The Regional Centre, Bathinda, has also awarded my buffalo. I have 250 buffaloes and cows of different breeds including HF, Shahiwal, Jersey, and Haryana desi cow breeds, including Lilly Ravi (Pakistan), Mohra (Haryana), and Greeder (Punjab). Lilly produces 22 kg of milk per day, whereas Mohra and Greeder breeds produce 28 kg and 18 kg of milk per day,” added Sukhdev.

Sukhdev’s fourth buffalo – Navjot’, a three-time mother, was also awarded with first position for her beauty. Six-year-old buffalo Navjot produces 18 kg of milk per day.

Earlier,the district-level two-day animal fair and milking competitions was inaugurated by Talwandi Sabo MLA Jeet Mohinder Singh Sidhu.

“Such fairs are held to usher in agriculture diversification, provide updated knowlegde to dairy farmers and impart training to the animal owners,” said Jeet Mohiner Sidhu.

Additional Deputy Commissioner (Development) Sonali Giri and Deputy Director, Aanimal Husbandry, Dr Pradeep Bansal, said ,this time, the animal fair has drawn people in a large numbers.

On Thrusday, the dancing mares and camels and the canine show would be the center of attraction of the fair.

White horse of Harvinder Singh was awarded the first prize for best horse calf. Harvinder said, “My horse is only 22-month-old, while I feed him with 5 kg of choker, 4 kg of milk, 3 kg of black gram, and 250 mg of ghee everyday and makes him run for about half-an-hour daily,” said Harvinder.

Last year, 500 animals were registered for the competition. This year, till today, 900 animals have been registered. Six rings have been set up for conducting the competitions. Two rings were allocated for horses and one each allocated for cows, goats, murrah buffaloes and dogs.

Bathinda, November 26
Enacting a suicide drama and keeping the policemen from the Thermal Police Station and the volunteers of NGO Sahara Jan Sewa on tenterhook cost dear to a city resident.

The accused, a 25-year-old Lovepreet Singh, a driver by profession, residing in Jujhar Singh Nagar was found behind the drama. Father of a two-year-old child and fighting a legal battle of divorce with his wife for the last few months, he fell in love with a girl from Dabwali.

Sources said that the since the girl was not ready to marry him, he tried to pressurise her by enacting a suicide drama.

He put his trouser, shirt and shoes at the bank of lake number two of the Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Plant in the wee hours today with a slip on which the phone number of the girl was written.

The clothes were detected by a morning walker who further brought the matter into the notice of an NGO Sahara Jan Sewa.

The policemen from the Cantonment Police Station suspecting it to be yet another case of suicide launched a hunt operation for the unidentified missing man who has left his clothes at the bank of the lakes.

Terming it to be a suicide drama, the NGO president stated that during all the previous suicide cases none of the people had ever put off their clothes before ending their lives by jumping in the lakes. “The cops dialed the cell number written on the slip and found it to be of a girl in nearby district of Haryana, Dabwali, which is 30 kilometers away from Bathinda,” Goyal said.

The girl initially stated that the clothes lying at the bank of the lake could be of Lovepreet who had been harassing her and pressurising for marriage. “But since Lovepreet had recently divorced his wife, the girl had refused to enter into the wedlock,” Goyal said.

The girl stated that Lovepreet had been threatening her for the past couple of days to put her in deep trouble by ending his life and by holding the girl responsible for his death. The policemen immediately swung into action and traced the boy’s family members at Jujhar Singh Nagar. The boy’s brother led the police team to the place where he was found in a healthy state. After the formal arrest, Lovepreet stated he had executed the plan of showing him dead by keeping his clothes at the bank.

“Three volunteers of my NGO were without clothes for over four hours and two of them dived in the deep water of the lake amidst chilling weather to search about the missing boy just due to the suicide drama by the lover,” Goyal said.

Goyal had a case registered against the accused who was in custody of the Thermal Police Station and a case was being registered against him.

Bathinda, November 26
Expressing solidarity with the students of Punjabi University, Patiala, members of the Punjab Students’ Union (Shaheed Randhawa) staged a protest at Government Rajindra College here today. They demanded the cancellation of cases lodged against the students besides repayment of the fee paid by SC students.

Union leaders Gurpreet Singh and Vishu said the police action against the students, who were protesting peacefully at the university in Patiala, was unjustified. Raising slogans against the varsity authorities and the police, the students took out a protest rally at the college.

They further said the students had protested the tactics adopted by the university and the state government to put the university on the path of privatisation and commercialisation.

They said salaries of teachers of Rajindra College were being paid from the PTA fund collected from the students at the time of admission. "As inflation is increasing everyday, so the fee of students of government colleges," they said.

The protesting students added that although under pressure the university had announced to repay the fee submitted by the students belonging to the SC category, the varsity had delayed the process.

Bathinda, November 26
A team of doctors at Max Super Speciality Hospital performed a complex cardiac procedure on two elderly patients. The team was headed by Dr Sajaad Manzoor. For the past 15 years, Badri Ram (68) had routinely been taking medicine for hypertension but his blood pressure remained out of control.

He was tired of visiting doctors in Punjab as none of them could provide a satisfying treatment. He had undergone angioplasty a few months ago but was facing difficulty in breathing. Dr Sajaad examined him and found that his BP was shooting high following which Badri was asked to get a renal angiogram done immidiately.

Dr Sajaad said, “Badri Ram’s BP at the time of admission was 220/110 mm hg while his renal angiogram showed 99 per cent blockage in the renal arteries that supply blood to kidneys. We were sure that this was the cause of his problem. We performed renal arteries stenting on Badri Ram. As a result, not only was the blockage completely removed, the BP was also reduced to 130/80 mm hg.”

Another patient, Amarjeet Singh (51), had unstable angina. The patient had undergone coronary artery bypass graft seven-years ago. However, the graft was blocked due to fat deposits. Dr Sajaad found 95 per cent blockage in graft and suggested graft stenting.

Interestingly, graft stenting with the use of graft filter has been performed for the first time in Bathinda.

The doctors claimed that both the patients were recovering.

Bathinda, November 26
The court today awarded 10-year imprisonment to Bikram Sharma, a Jogi Nagar resident, who was caught with 18 vials of cough syrups without any medicinal licence.

The accused was arrested in December, 2012. The court concluded that the accused intended to sell the vials to drug addicts.

Bathinda, November 26
National Law Day was celebrated at the District Judicial Complex here today. Taking a new initiative, the District Bar Council honoured the lawyers with more than 50 years of experience.

District and Sessions Judge Tejwinder Singh honours a veteran lawyer during a function to mark National Law Day in Bathinda on Wednesday. Photo: Vijay Kumar

Speaking on the occasion, the chairman of the District Legal Services Authority-cum-District and Sessions Judge, Tejwinder Singh, said on November 26, 1949, the Constitution of India was completed and some of its parts were implemented. The day was observed as National Law Day wherein the judicial officers and lawyers get together to find means for ensuring legal help for all sections of the society. Twenty advocates were honoured who had served for more than 50 years. Advocate R K Bhandari presented poems.

Advocate Kanwaljit Singh Kuti conducted the stage. Prominent among others present included Praveen Kaur Sidhu, president, Bar Council, Navdeep Singh Jeeda and others.

Special lecture held at CUP

Central University of Punjab organised a special lecture on the occasion of National Law Day here today.

The lecture was organised by the Centre for Environmental Law on the theme of ‘Law and Social Change’ and was delivered by Prof Veer Singh, former Vice-Chancellor, NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad.

Veer Singh discussed various implications of the law with respect to changing social scenario. He said changes were definite to occur in the society and laws were to be modified and adapted as per the upcoming requirements.

“There is no dearth of laws in the Indian democratic system, but their execution was slow and difficult,” added Prof Veer.

He advised that all members of a civilised society should follow the laws.

He also emphasised that legal education should be a priority. While comparing India, China and Japan, he said we were not as sincere towards the law as the people of these two nations.

The lecture was followed by a question-answer hour. Prof P Ramarao, Dean, Academic Affairs, introduced the speaker before the lecture and vote of thanks was proposed by Prof RG Saini.

Students, researchers and faculty from various centres participated in the programme.

ADC (D) Sonali Giri admires paintings during an exhibition at Teachers’ Home in Bathinda on Wednesday

Bathinda, November 26
The Sardar Sobha Singh Memorial Chittarkar Society today began its five-day painting festival. The festival was inaugurated by ADC(D) Sonali Giri at Teachers’ Home. While an on-the-spot painting competition was organised for schoolchildren, art teachers of various schools participated in the open canvas contest.

In the competition for students belonging to Classes I to VII, Ishani Nayak of Silver Oaks School won the first place. Kaveri Nayar of St Xavier’s School and Sumit Singla of Doon Senior Secondary Public School, Kararawala, bagged the second position. The third position was secured by Subh of Lord Rama Public School, Arshdeep Singh of Government High School, Dikh, and Nirmal Singh of Baba Farid Public Senior Secondary School. Ten students won the consolation prize.

In the competition for Classes VIII to X, the students were given topics “Any Indian Dance Form” and “Contribution of Women to Society”. Aastha Raj of Silver Oaks School won the first place while the second place went to Ravinder Singh of Government High School, Dikh, and Hardeep Kaur of Sudesh Vatika School Bhagiwandar. The third place was secured by Amrinder Singh of Government Adarsh Senior Secondary School, Debomitra Goswami and Avish Elvis of St Xavier’s School.

In the group C, in which students from Classes X to XII participated, Bhupinder Singh of ITI Baba Farid was adjudged the winner while the second place was won by Banmeet Singh of St Xavier’s School and Sandeep Singh of Government Barjindra Collge, Faridkot. The third position was shared by Ravaani Parteek of St Xavier’s School, Gurdeep Kaur of SVS College Sunam and Karamver Kaur of Major Ajain Singh Senior Secondary School, Jiwan Singh Wala. The topics of the painting were the “Swachha Bharat Abhiyan” and “The Contribution of Women to Indian Society”.

In the open canvas competition held for the art teachers, Kamlesh won the first position while Rupali and Mangi Lal bagged the second and the third positions, respectively. The competitions were conducted under the supervision of the president of the society, Amarjit Singh, senior vice-president Kewal Krishan, vice-president Yashpal Singh Jaitu and others. From Thursday to Sunday, more than 100 paintings and artworks made by members of the society will be on display at Teachers’ Home and the winners of various competitions will be felicitated during a ceremony on Sunday.

Bathinda, November 26
A farewell party, “Adieu”, was organised by Guru Gobind Singh College of Engineering & Technology for the students of BTech computer science. The function was organised at the main auditorium of the college.

Dr NS Malhi, Vice-Chancellor, Guru Kashi University, was the chief guest and Dr BS Dhaliwal, Dean Academics, Satish Goswami, Registrar, Dr Narinder Singh, Director, Finance, and Dr Ashwani Sethi, Principal, GGSCET, were present as special guests. Junior students presented cultural items like giddha, bhangra, songs and dances.— TNS

Bathinda, November 26
Students of Government Rajindra College showcased their prowess by winning medals in two separate sports competitions organised by Punjabi University, Patiala.

In a weightlifting competition at Guru Teg Bahadur Khalsa College in Muktsar, Reema Kumari, a student of BA I grabbed the gold medal in the 48kg category. In a powerlifting competition, Satinder Singh, a student of BA III won the bronze medal.

In a boxing competition at the university campus, Rampura Phul, and Akal Degree College of Physical Education, Mastuana Saheb, Muskaan, a student of BA II won the silver medal in the 57-60 kg category. Kamal Kumar and Lamaljeet Singh, both students of BA I won bronze medals in boxing.

The winners were today felicitated during a ceremony by the college.

Bathinda, November 26
On the fourth day of the ongoing Drug De-Addiction Champion Cricket League, JCD Sirsa beat Dera Sirsa by 67 runs here today. The match was played on Police Public Senior Secondary School grounds.

It also won the second match by beating Cops (J) Bathinda by five runs.

In the first match of the day, JCD Sirsa won the toss and elected to bat.

Sarwan’s knock of 51 runs in 48 balls and Harpreet’s innings of 49 runs in 37 balls helped the team score 162 runs at the loss of four wickets in 20 overs. Bagirath of Dera Sirsa took two wickets.

Harpreet and Karambeer of JCD Sirsa took three wickets each.

Dera Sirsa managed to score 95 runs at the loss of eight wickets in 20 overs.

In the second match of the day, Cops (J) Bathinda won the toss and elected to bat first. They scored 101 runs in the allotted 20 overs. Navkaran scored 22 runs off 20 balls. Vikas of JCD Sirsa was the most successful bowler who took four wickets.

Vikas of JCD Sirsa scored 37 runs off 32 balls and helped the team won the match in the 19th over at the loss of five wickets. Saurav of Cops (J) Bathinda took two wickets.